To Have No Weakness
by The Silent Avenger
Summary: Chaud and Protoman are the invincible team. No one stands a challenge. Until one day Chaud catches the trace of a criminal with some connection to his past. Rated T to be safe and for mild-ish violence and language in later chapters. Chapter 10 now up.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, welcome to my first ever fan fiction. As a novice writer, any reviews, suggestions, and constructive criticism is craved. Flames are welcome, but you will be ignored. Hope you enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Megaman, the anime would be dubbed up till the last episode of Beast Plus, alas I do not own Megaman.**

**To Have No Weakness**

**Chapter 1**

"Hmph, typical"

A slight grin spread hit his face as he effortlessly dodged a series of energy blasts spreading out from a single source, his mission, his target. A sudden smoke screen walled his vision. The navi vertically sliced at his back, it was a good combo; one that would slice an ordinary navi in two. But Protoman was no ordinary navi. He dodged and parried at an unbelievable speed. His target was wearing, he could see it in his movements, chip usage, and most of all, tactics; he was getting desperate.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" The navi let out a scream as he made a diagonal slash downward which Protoman blocked and pushed back.

The navi fell back and then let out a surge of blows in attempt to knock him back.

"That's enough Protoman", Chaud's voice came in clear over a bit of static as Protoman was busy blocking, "finish him"

Protoman slowly retreated, blocking blows as he inched back. He waited for a vertical slash which he sidestepped, the Navi lost his balance, Protoman swung behind him, and it was over.

Chaud sat, with his elbows resting on his knees and his face resting in his hands. His eyes glazed up at the computer screen in front of him, where Protoman's healing program was in progress. Protoman hadn't suffered any injury other than minor fatigue, repairs weren't really needed, but as an official, Chaud never knew when he would need Protoman at full operating efficiency.

"58%" read the program update window. He could be using this time to be doing more useful things, like doing some paperwork, or researching. But he had other things on his mind. He mentally replayed the battle that had taken place just hours ago. Protoman's form had been perfect, flawless. There was no one who could beat him anymore, no one even had a chance, that wasn't his opinion; it was fact.

"Process completed," said the empty, gray text, "starting program "

Chaud ran his calloused hands through thick, white hair. He needed I get away from it all, paperwork, crime-fighting, IPC.

"No!" thought the teen harshly, mentally scolding himself.

He was tired, no doubt. He was fatigued, stressed, and both physically and mentally strained. But if he needed to take a _break_… he was weak.

Chaud got up out of his chair just to flop down onto his bed. His eyes closed

"Maybe he's right," Chaud thought, thinking of his father, "maybe I am weak."

He was worn and tired; every fiber of his mental and physical being yearned for sleep. He crossed his arms over his chest as he searched for rest, and sleep found him…

He was chasing a man through the streets. Chaud was running at full speed, keeping the hooded man in his sights. The figure ducked around a corner, Chaud followed only to find himself in a crowd of people. He ran, pushed, and shoved people out of the way. He was dizzy, confused, something snagged his leg and he hit the floor. Everything was now a blur. He rolled on the ground, trying to get up, he was helpless.

"Weak" Chaud frantically searched the area for the source of the only clear sound.

"Weak," The voice said again, Chaud looked up, and towering over him was the man he loved, the man whom he wanted nothing more than to please, his father, "weak."

"Get up," his father commanded firmly, "get up, weakling!" Chaud struggled to his feet, but fell. Tears threatened the corners of his eyes. "Get up!"

Chaud woke with a start, his eyes flew open. He was breathing hard, and found that he was sweating.

"…time to get up Chaud," Protoman's soothing, calm voice told him, "Sir, are you awake? You need to get up now"

Chaud sat up quickly, too quick; he got dizzy and slowly lay down again. He took deep gulps of air, trying to bring his breath back.

"Are you all right, Sir?" Protoman inquired, "You seem to have been having a nightmare"

"No," Chaud said quickly, "I don't have bad dreams." Chaud squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed down a lump in his throat. "They make you weak."

Protoman let out a small, concerned sigh, "Sir, maybe you should take some time off, I'll cancel your meeting today, and you can-"

"No" Chaud cut off his Navi, eliciting another worried sigh, "I don't need a break"

Chaud got up and headed towards the bathroom, "Don't need it"

He looked himself in the mirror, and adjusted the blood red tie choking his neck. He ran a comb through his hair once more. His features immaculate, he grabbed his PET and headed for the door. As the representative for IPC, he was headed for another business meeting, to make a partnership with another company.

"Time to be the man that I was made to be" Chaud thought, he must show no outward emotion, he must be strong, show no flaw, and most of all, he must have no weakness.

**Chapter one completed. Hopefully it didn't suck **_**too **_**badly. Any constructive criticism you may have to is welcome. Now see that little button below that says "Review"? Click it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all a big thanks to everyone who reviewed, or just a big thanks to the one person who reviewed. Ah well, I tried not to make Chaud **_**too **_**obsessed over not showing weakness, but it is a point I wanted to emphasize. I'll try to tone it down a bit here. Enjoy chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: The Megaman franchise is not in my possession, but it will be! Oh, it will be! Bwahahahaha!**

Chapter 2

"Thank you sir, it's a pleasure to be finally working with you." Chaud shook the man's hand and walked out of the meeting room.

He stepped into the elevator and punched the 1 button. The doors shut in front of him and Chaud let out a sigh. The elevator lurched as it started on its way down. Chaud stood in silence as the typical cheese played over the elevator's speaker.

He thought. He had the rest of the day to do what he pleased. A rare occasion, but one he normally spent working ahead on his projects. Protoman, at that moment cleared his throat, which meant he was trying to communicate something to Chaud. Navis didn't _need_ to clear their throats.

The elevator pinged as the elevator stopped with the number 1 displayed on the digital display. He stepped out and walked toward the door. If Chaud needed to know something, Protoman would tell him, and if Protoman didn't tell him something he wanted to, Chaud thought as he shoved open the door, that meant one of three things. One, Protoman was afraid to tell him something, two, Protoman didn't think the info was that important, or three, the info was very important to him and Protoman wanted to remind him of it.

Chaud glanced at his watch, 12:45 it told him. Time, it was always definite, but always changing. At least the watch never lied; at least he could read it easier than he could read people. He averted his thinking back, one, Protoman was never afraid to tell him something if he thought that Chaud needed to know. Two, if he thought the info wasn't important, he wouldn't have cleared his throat. That left option number three.

Chaud let out another small sigh. Fine. Perhaps it could do him some good, some relaxation time.

"Protoman," Chaud started, ready to ask a question he already knew the answer to.

"Sir?"

"Is my schedule open for this afternoon?"

Protoman let out a slight grin, "Yes sir"

"I think," Chaud said, knowing he might regret it later, "I should take some time off"

Of all the eccentric idiots, why him? Chaud had thought.

He had decided to try going to the museum of arts, to rest his eyes on works of beauty. NOT to meet with _him _and his friends to get even more stressed. It had been the some old routine, when those youthful, fiery eyes ran up to him.

"_Hey Chaud!" Lan exclaimed excitedly, "You finally takin' a break, huh?"_

_It was at that moment Chaud mentally bashed himself for ever wanting to take a break._

"_Well," Lan chuckled, "it's just about time you did if you ask me, I think-"_

"_No one asked you what you think Lan, and I'm not here to 'take a break', I'm here on official business." He had replied coolly, "And if you ask __**me, **__I think breaks are only for weaklings like yourself, hmph."_

_Chaud walked past Lan, pushing him to the side and walked ahead without taking his hands out of his pockets. He kept his pace, walking off to go about his official business he didn't have."_

"_Jeez, what's up with that guy!" Lan said from behind him, obviously ticked off._

Now Chaud sat in a fancy restaurant, shuffling around the various delicacies with his fork. It had stung the first time. When he had bashed Lan, and insulted the company of that little girl's father. Now, it was just a routine, but why of all the damned times and places did he have to meet him there?

He stabbed at a piece of meat. Last break _he _was going to be taking in a while. He had to meet Lan, right at the moment he was taking time off. He had to tell him he had official business, at the moment he didn't. He was like Chaud's worst enemy, knowing every weak point he had.

Chaud shook his head, as if to shake it all off, "Protoman we're leaving"

"Sir?" Protoman asked, concerned.

"You heard me," Chaud said back, perhaps a little too quickly and maybe a little too harshly.

"Yes Sir," Protoman said in a tone emotionless to the normal ear. But Chaud knew Protoman's voice, and he heard sadness and hurt.

Chaud walked in silence for a while. He sighed, "Protoman, I'm sorry, I just-"

"I know, its okay Chaud" Protoman said

A shadowed figure stood on a rooftop, watching them talk, "Now."

Chaud heard an explosion partway down the street, several screams, and yelling.

"Chaud!" Protoman called

"I know!" Chaud yelled back as he raced down the street toward the sound.

As he sprinted forward, he saw a hooded man walk out of a charred door in the side of a building. In one hand he spotted a sack filled with a material Chaud couldn't identify in the other, his eyes narrowed, a semi-automatic hand gun. The man spotted Chaud and ran in the down the street in the opposite direction of him.

"Jack in, ," said Chaud, jacking in Protoman at the next available port, a telephone pole.

With Protoman in the traffic system, Chaud vaulted after the man. He wasted no time in calling the local police and alerting them to his position as he noticed the model of gun, a .45 Smith and Wesson compact pistol. His eyes was narrowed, adrenaline pumping through his body, and the chase was on.

**Eh, I tried to make this one a little longer than it is right now, but I'm a bit dry on ideas. I wrote this story with a beginning in mind and an end in mind, I just gotta figure out how to get my beginning to my end. Hopefully we'll get into some action in the next chapter. Again, please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well here we are at chapter 3. Hopefully we'll get into some action here with a little chase scene. I was pretty busy with other matters, so sorry if it took a long time to get this one up. Thanks for the reviews for previous chapters, Ellipsis Flood, GirlProto, thanks for being my first reviewers :D. GirlProto: I wasn't thinking of adding many other characters beside Chaud and Protoman. I think that Searchman and Raika would be hard to write in this story, due to the fact that Raika was basically created to be the new snobby jerk after Chaud got soft. However, I am a Searchman fan, so I would like to add him in. I just need an idea on how to fit him into the story. Now after that 129 word author's note, let us get on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I totally own Megaman! *gets shot at by lawyers* Yikes! Okay, I don't own Megaman!**

Chapter 3

Blang! The hooded figure turned around and fired off a piece of hot metal which whizzed narrowly to the right of Chaud's arm; ripping the sleeve oh his shirt and nicking his skin.

"Ah!" Chaud grunted in pain as he flung his left hand over his wound.

He couldn't just let this guy go, but going on like this was suicide. Chaud pried his left hand free of the wound. There was blood on it. Chaud ignored it and put it into his pocket, rummaging around. In less than a second he found what he wanted; a small Swiss army knife about as long as his finger. He transferred the blade to his right hand and without opening the blade stretched his arm back, propelled it forward and…

Blang! Chaud hit the ground as another bullet pressed close over his egg-shell like hair. He struggled to his feet and reached for his PET, he had to get a clear shot if he wanted to make the knife hit, "Protoman, where are you?"

"Coming up on the Traffic Control Center, Sir" Protoman replied, in his usual monotone.

Chaud sprinted forward, and desperately heaved his knife, closed blade, towards the man. The knife sailed towards him; Chaud watched it as if everything were moving in slow motion. The projectile came in towards the man's head as it

Blang! got shot cleanly out of the air.

"Damn it!" Chaud felt a surge of rage pulse through him, but he controlled it. Anger was an advantage for some people. Not for him, blind fury only made him desperate, it made him look weak. But this man was no ordinary thug.

He fired off another bullet in Chaud's direction. He hit the pavement and ducked behind a trash bin. The whizzed harmlessly by, but the man gained even more ground ahead of Chaud.

"Four" Chaud said, counting how many shots the man had taken, as he grabbed the lid of the can and rolled out from his hiding place to see the man turn sharply into an alley.

Holding the trash can's lid, ready to fling it like Captain America, he slid into the alleyway to find himself face to face with, a pair of headlights?

Chaud leapt leftward as far as his worn legs would take him as the wheels of the car barely missed his legs. Chaud cursed his reflexes as the car turned out of the alley and onto the street he was just on. No, this man was not your average criminal punk; he was good.

"Please state your business and-"

"Japan special agent " Protoman cut the Traffic Control Center Guard off, holding up the holographic, 3D badge that authorized him access to the area.

"Confirming… confirmed, go on in"

Protoman stepped into the control area, "initiate voice command"

"Voice command initiated," said a computerized voice

"Access traffic control system"

"Protoman!" Chaud said, obviously ticked-off, into his PET.

"I'm on it sir" Protoman replied calmly

Chaud pushed forward as fast as he possibly could at that point, but he couldn't keep up with the man's car, which was doing at least 15 miles over the traffic limit.

The car jumped over a small hill, cutting it off from Chaud's view. He glanced at a city map on his PET; he was coming up on an intersection. Great, now one of two things needed to happen, there had to be a red light, this however only had a 10% chance of stopping him. The second more likely event that could take place if Protoman had done his job right, which he had, was that all lights were green. This would likely cause a jam in the traffic, and then, Chaud lightly touched his wound and winced, he would catch up with the man and take him on.

Chaud cleared the hill and saw only what he had predicted; and intersection with a traffic jam. He now had to take a risk, he had to take a small alleyway to the right and come out on the rightmost road on the intersection. If the man got out of his car and took the least crowded road out of the intersection, the one on the right, he could cut him off.

He turned sharply to the right and ran as fast as he could around the building. This needed to end, and soon. He rounded the corner back onto the street, and there directly in front of him, was the hooded figure, wearing a domino mask.

In the split second he saw the man's face, he noted a sharp chin and turquoise colored hair. The man aimed his pistol, but not before Chaud pulled back his fist, swung his weight at the man, and connected it to the side of his face. He fired as he took the full brunt of the blow, staggering back. The bullet zipped harmlessly by him as Chaud's punch threw off the man's aim.

Chaud wasn't letting this man get away from him; he stepped forward and kicked his leg around at the man's head. The hooded man, recovering from Chaud's first blow with surprising speed, ducked the blow. Using the force of his missed kick, Chaud spun around a full 360 to face the man again.

And there was a pistol aimed squarely at his head. Chaud froze.

"6 shots, and that last one was his fifth" he thought quickly to himself, he spoke aloud now, "one shot left," he said coolly, narrowing his eyes, "think you'll miss?"

**A bit shorter than previous chapters, I try to make my chapters at least 1,000 words, so this one's a bit short. I have a vague idea of how I'll try to fit in Raika and Searchman, but don't be surprised if he doesn't show up. Next chapter should be up pretty soon. Again, suggestions, constructive criticism, and reviews are welcome. Oh, and don't forget, the man Chaud is chasing is carrying a gun in his one hand, and a sack in the other, don't forget about that sack.**


	4. Chapter 4

**First of all, sorry for taking so long to get these one thousand and ninety-three words up, I'll get the next one up quickly, promise, *crosses heart*. Alrighty, here goes chapter 4. Thanks again to you, GirlProto, for reviewing. I'll try to make my chapters a bit longer. Chapter 4 starts out not where we left off last chapter, but rather, it shows what Protoman was doing after he went to the traffic control center when Chaud was chasing the man.**

**Disclaimer: I own Megaman! Well, his action figure at least. Capcom owns all that copyrighted stuff.**

Chapter 4

"Protoman!" Chaud said into his PET, sounding obviously ticked off.

"I'm on it sir" Protoman replied in his usual monotone.

Protoman's fingers moved around data screens, accessing files. He took control of the security cams in Tokyo city and located Chaud. He took several photos of the man Chaud was chasing after and sent them to his PET before taking control of the traffic lights at the intersection Chaud was coming up on. If he could turn every light at the intersection green, it would result in a traffic jam, at least stalling the man.

At that moment Protoman felt someone was watching him, he accessed the security cams in the area he was in, one camera's screen had gone black; the one camera that overlooked the room he was in.

"Trap!" Protoman thought to himself. He sprung at incredible speed to his right, narrowly avoiding a purple blast that left a small crater where he was standing less than a second before.

Protoman saw the navi who shot at him back out of the room and go left down a long, narrow hall. He leapt through the door into the hall and faced left, only to narrowly dodge a blast of purple energy coming from his right.

"Chaud!" Protoman grunted as he dodged blasts from both directions, "I need help!"

He just stood there looking at Chaud with his pistol aimed at his forehead. Chaud had to make a move and he had to make it soon, before this man either got away or put a piece of metal through his head. But how could he

"Chaud!" Protoman's muffled voice came through his PET's speaker, "I need help!"

Chaud gnashed his teeth together; he could hear muffled gun blasts coming from his PET. This was just great, Protoman was in trouble and Chaud couldn't help him because he was at gun point.

"This couldn't _get _any worse" Chaud thought to himself

Chaud wasn't responding; he must be in trouble.

Protoman took a hit to his arm; "ugh" grunted the red navi

Protoman backed out of the hall, into another navi. Protoman spun around quickly swinging the red tinted sword extending from his arm, slicing through the navi's neck.

The navi looked a lot like a navi-sized doll with its head cut off, it was the result of a fake body chip. The fake body fell over backwards to reveal a cloaked navi, who had been hidden from Protoman's view by the fake navi, with a scoped gun pointed at him.

"Crap," was the last thought that ran through his mind as a gun blast hit him squarely in the face and knocked him back. He saw the navi that shot him move over to the data screen he was working on and access the lighting system.

He could duck a shot and then kick the man's stomach. He could doge and spin to the right, grabbing the man's arm and twisting it. No, this man had too good an aim; Chaud couldn't count on dodging that last bullet. He could trip the man and kick the gun out of his hands.

Chaud, frustrated, mentally cursed himself for allowing his weakness to get the better of him. Now look where he was. He could- Why was the man just standing there? He must be waiting for-

At that second the city blacked out, completely. Chaud saw his chance; he dropped to the ground and swung his leg around at where the man's legs were. He reached the point where the man was standing and connected, with nothing.

Chaud heard a door slam very close by, and then everything came back on. The man was gone. But where he was standing just a second before was a sack. The sack the man had been carrying when he first saw him. He still could not tell what was in it, but he narrowed it down to two; this was what the man was trying to steal, or it was something to stop, stall, or kill him, likely, Chaud thought grimly, an explosive of some sort.

Assuming the worst of the two, Chaud grabbed the sack, threw it down the street, and leapt in the opposite direction, with his hands over the back of his head. He braced for an explosion, but it didn't come.

He stood slowly, cautiously, just to be safe, and started slowly towards the sack. If not an explosive, something else then, a gas, or a timed bomb.

Chaud neared the sack and cautiously opened it, prepared for whatever may be inside. He yanked the sack open, to find himself face to face with a pile of, photos? Alright, then this is what the man was trying to steal then.

He opened the sack further, not dropping his guard just in case there was still something deadly in it, and his first thought mad him stop dead still

Inside the sack were photos… of Chaud. Pictures of years ago, pictures of when he was happy, when he was loved. He picked up the pile and sifted through them. There was one with his family in it, Chaud's eyes wandered over that picture and stopped at the sight of his father. A proud smile on his face, and his hand, rested on Chaud's shoulder He buried his head in his hands, and felt his face was wet; he was crying.

"No" he said silently to himself, he couldn't be _crying_ only wimps did that.

His second thought shook him out of his self-pity; the man had gotten away. This mysterious figure carrying items depicting links Chaud's earlier life had run off without a trace.

His third thought made him get up off of the ground and sprint towards the nearest jack-in point; Protoman was fighting someone, or something, and from the sounds of it, had not gone well.

Chaud jacked in and located Protoman, "No!" Chaud thought violently, this man's navi, Chaud looked over Protoman, now returned to his PET, bested Protoman.

He had suffered severe external damage to his head and arm. No…

Chaud thought over it all; the chase, the gun, the sack, the pictures, and now, how Protoman had been beat, seemingly effortlessly. Chaud snorted and shook his head, no.

He shut off hit PET and returned, dragging his feet, to the place where the pictures were. He looked over them, shut the sack, and threw it over his shoulder. Thoughts racing through Chaud's mind he returned home. No, this was no ordinary criminal, he was a mastermind.

**Well, okay… That took a while to get done for not as many words as I had hoped. Again, I'll try to make the future chapters longer. Action over, the next chapter will be more about Chaud thinking about stuff. Again, also, please review and tell me your thoughts, even if you think this story sucks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, happy Thanksgiving! I've been busy as of late, so sorry if this one took a while to get up. This chapter'll be mostly about Chaud thinking about stuff that's going on. Anywho, enjoy chapter 5. As usual, reviews, comments, suggestions, ect., are welcome. Flames are allowed, but you will be ignored.**

**Disclaimer: Due to lawyers having me at gunpoint, I am forced to say that I do NOT own Megaman.**

Chapter 5

"Thank you sir, but I'll have to decline" Chaud said, semi-coldly into his PET.

There was a pause as a man on the other end of the phone line spoke.

"Yes sir, I believe I'm capable of handling the situation alone"

Chaud pressed the button on his PET to end the call to the Tokyo Police Commissioner, and put it back into its holder. He sat down in front of his computer screen where a repair program was running. Just days before, he had used this same program to help Protoman regain energy after minor fatigue. Now, it was a bit different.

Chaud leaned back in his chair, head down, arms crossed. Questions raced through his head, why did this man have these pictures? How did he get them? Who was he?

He shook his head, he couldn't keep doing this. Rare was a case such as this, but when one came along Chaud knew what to do. Chaud went through physical and mental training for occasions just like this. He had to prioritize, answer one question at a time.

Alright, easy. What's the most important question about this man that Chaud had? He pondered this a second. Chaud supposed it would be the man's goal; what was he planning? What did he want to accomplish?

Well, Chaud frowned, he really couldn't think of any goal the man might have. Chaud had investigated the site where the explosion, which drew him into the chase, took place. He had examined the gun, the sack, and the pictures; he had found nothing to suggest the purpose or identity of the man.

Chaud shook his head and sighed. Maybe he shouldn't have declined the Police Commissioner's offer for help. The explosion seemed to have no purpose whatsoever, and…

"rrr," Chaud growled to himself, okay new tactic.

A seemingly purposeless explosion draws Chaud into a chase, when the man sees Chaud he runs. Showing much skill with a gun and large stamina reserves, the man has him at gunpoint. The man's navi defeats Protoman and uses traffic control to create a temporary blackout, allowing him to escape to a nearby building. Chaud starts to pursue, but chooses to investigate a sack left behind by the man, supposedly, as Chaud thought, to delay him. The sack is opened, Chaud looked over to the open sack sitting on his desk, and these pictures of Chaud when he was younger are found inside.

It just didn't all add up. The navi repair program finished its run and Protoman returned to his PET. The red navi remained silent as to not disturb his operator's thoughts.

"Protoman" Chaud started, not moving from his current position.

"Sir?"

"Did you get a good look at the navi that attacked you?"

"No sir, I'm afraid not" Protoman replied

Hmm, that put a damper on things, "Did the security cams pick up anything?"

"No sir, all of the cameras were blacked out during the course of your little chase"

Chaud sat, again in silence, as he waited for a flash of inspiration, none came. Chaud sighed angrily and shook his head violently, "When did the security cams go black?"

"6:37 Sir, about," Protoman wrinkled his forehead and frowned, "about five minutes before we heard the explosion"

Hmm, interesting…

Then, Chaud got that flash of inspiration and sat up in his chair. When investigating the scene of the explosion he had found out that the explosion had come from a barber shop, if there was an explosion there must have been explosives, and someone must have put them there.

"Protoman, who's in ownership of the barbershop?"

"I'm assuming you mean the one where the explosion came from?" Chaud remain silent, "James Henderson" Protoman said, taking his silence as an affirmative.

"Give him a call"

Chaud sat, waiting for the man to pick up the phone.

After what seemed like forever, a voice came from his PET's speaker, "Henderson residence," came a weary and frustrated voice.

"Hello sir, this is Chaud Blaze, Tokyo special ops." Chaud said, sounding cool and professional, "I need to ask you a few questions about the explosion that destroyed the barber shop that you were in possession of.

The man on the other end sighed, "Well, what do you want?"

"Did you see any suspicious activity around your place in the past few days?"

"No"

Chaud frowned and paused for a second, then looked up and leaned in towards his PET, "Any customers that may have been carrying any explosives?"

"Nope, I'm sure about that"

Chaud scrunched his forehead, it was slim, but there was a chance that the barber himself blew up his shop, perhaps being bribed, but Chaud could find no trace of guilt or nervousness from his voice.

Protoman, reading Chaud's mind as usual brought up the man's bank account history, there were no spikes, no withdraws no nothing.

"If you're done a-"the man started.

"Any new employees?" Chaud interrupted him.

"Pardon?" the man replied, sounding mildly offended.

"Was there anyone new working at your shop?"

"Yes, but only temporarily, I got an e-mail from one of my workers saying that he was sick and couldn't come to work for a few weeks."

"What was the replacement's name?"

"Micah Reed"

"Thank you for you time" Chaud hung up.

"Sir?" Protoman started, asking permission to speak.

"Yes Protoman?"

"Weren't you a little harsh on that guy?" Protoman said, both concern and mild accusation in his voice, "I mean, he _did _just lose his business"

Chaud said nothing; he shook his head and responded by saying, "See if you can access the security camera footage in the barber shop."

Protoman sighed and brought up a data screen showing the footage before the explosion. The explosion went off, coming seemingly from nowhere.

Chaud rewound the tape to when the new employee, this Micah Reed, came into the shop on his first day, a day before the explosion. He came in, took his coat off and hung it on the stand, shook hands with his employer, and set his briefcase below one of the tables. Chaud forwarded the tape, eyeing the briefcase, to when Reed left for home.

Nope, he took his briefcase with him. But it seems he forgot his coat. Chaud brought up the footage of the explosion again and slowed it down X2.

Staring intently at the jacket, Chaud played the footage…

And the jacket exploded, filling the room with white light and destroying the camera.

"Protoman!" Chaud exclaimed hurriedly.

"I'm on it, Sir" Protoman said with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Chaud waited in suspense as Protoman took a picture of the new employee and cross-referenced it with police files on all Japanese citizens. He came out with nothing.

Chaud frowned, "He must be wearing some kind of makeup or synthetic mask," He wondered aloud, partially to himself, partially to Protoman

"Or," Protoman started, also in thought, "he may not be a citizen of Japan."

Chaud paused, taking in the possibility. After a second he leaned in towards the computer and accessed the security cameras outside of the barber shop on the streets where he had chased the man down. He found the spot in the footage when the new employee left on his first day. He tracked the car through the city, using the various security cameras, to a downtown motel.

Chaud stood and headed acrossed the room. He had some investigating to do.

"Protoman, I need you to stay here and update me on any useful info you can get. Anything you can get about the new employee or the man I was chasing."

"Where are you going sir?" Protoman inquired, half curiously, half concerned.

"I've got some investigating to do"

**Well, not too long, but longer than previous chapters. This part was pretty hard and boring for me to write, but I hope it wasn't half bad for you to read. Maybe after this chapter I'll take a break from this fic, to get ideas, plan out future chapters, try writing other fics, ect,. But anyway, again, reviews, suggestions, constructive criticism, and so on is welcomed and wanted. Look forward to chapter 6!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well after a sizeable break, I'm back with chapter 6. I am quite busy with schoolwork and I must say that I wasn't feeling very motivated to write this chapter. But I thought hey, homework can wait a couple hours, this fic has waited long enough, so here's chapter 6, enjoy! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Megaman, copyrighted material, and all related characters are owned by Capcom.**

Chapter 6

Click! Chaud snapped a belt with two loaded hand guns, extra ammo, and various gas and smoke pellets around his waist, and headed out the door. He only half expected he'd need them, or the explosives and knives in his jacket for that matter, but it always paid to be prepared

"The cams didn't catch where he went after he checked out of the hotel, Sir," Protoman said over Chaud's PET, "He went into a blind spot and then he just disappeared."

"Hmm," Chaud thought to himself, slipping a helmet on and starting up his motorbike, "Then there's man with the sack of photos."

"What about him?"

"He wasn't the same man who set off the explosion, which means we're dealing with two, maybe more, men, who could be part of a larger organization." The vehicle accelerated, pushing against Chaud as he leaned forward in his seat.

"But if they're in league with each other, what was the purpose of the whole chase?" Protoman wondered aloud.

"The purpose," Chaud said, and paused, jumping a red light, "I honestly don't know, the explosion was for no purpose, and the sack of photos…"

"Was seemingly for no purpose either." he finished Chaud's sentence for him.

"But let's think logically," Chaud said, more to himself than to Protoman, slipping a glove over his right hand, the fingerless type that allowed him to get a good grip on a weapon and still be able to feel it, "It was either a distraction from his main goal or the sack _was _the main goal… or maybe he didn't have any goal in mind…"

Chaud's motorcycle skidded around a corner onto the next street, he was almost there, "It doesn't make sense that he didn't have a goal, you don't just blow up a barbershop and steal a sack of printed pictures for nothing." Chaud said, checking it off the list.

"But that brings up another interesting question," started Protoman, "Where _did _the pictures come from? It's not like they could have been sitting in a random barber shop; he had to have had them before the explosion went off."

"But the explosion did nothing," Chaud said quickly, "It's like it was just..."

"Sir?" Protoman asked after a pause.

"Like it was meant to draw us in." Chaud finished.

"As in," He paused, "To lure us into combat with him?"

"I don't know," Chaud started, slowing his motorcycle as he neared the hotel, "But that makes it the best lead we have right now. And that's why I'm here is to get answers."

Chaud got off his bike, took his helmet off and started toward the front entrance, something wasn't right, he just knew it. Not stopping, he glanced at his surroundings and spotted something in the upper window of the building that moved away from the window, out of sight. Chaud's eyes narrowed. Stopping, looking as if he had forgot something on his bike, he turned around and headed back toward it.

"Camera feed?" He asked quietly to Protoman.

"All dead." He replied, "What are you going to do?"

"Try to take him alive I guess," Chaud said, grabbing his helmet, "He's either got a sniper rifle or just a regular rifle, helmet should be able to protect me if it's a rifle." He slid his helmet on and started back toward the building.

"And what if he's a sniper?"

"Then the bullet will get through my helmet and hit me, I don't plan to get hit anyway, I just don't know when he's gonna decide to shoot." Chaud brought his right hand nearer to the quick draw holster on the right side of his belt. This shouldn't be too hard.

Keeping one eye on the windows in the second level, Chaud mentally played the angle he'd need to hold his arm at for a good shot over several times in his mind as he waited for the right time. And the right time came, movement again in the window as he saw the barrel of a sniper rifle, and Chaud made his move.

He snapped his hand up from his side, grabbing a pistol, took no time aiming, but holding his arm at the right angle by instinct, and fired. The glass on the window broke, the barrel disappeared, and Chaud knew he got his target, not a kill, but a shot to his right arm. He'd seen that the man was holding a sniper rifle, now he _couldn't _hold it with an injured arm.

Chaud wasted no time after his shot, dashing for the stairs to the second floor; he transferred the pistol from his right hand to his left, and grabbed a gas pellet and smoke pellet from his belt. Coming up on the room the sniper was in, Chaud took the pellets and rolled them under the crack in the door. Hearing them explode, he stepped back, took a running leap, and busted the door down.

Pistol back in his right hand, he swept the room with it and his sights came across the man who had aimed the rifle at him, laying on the ground, coughing up vomit, clutching his arm.

"A bullet, tear-gas, _and_ smoke?" Protoman said, "Overkill much?"

Not replying, Chaud took a coil of wire out of his belt and tied the man's hands behind his back.

The man mumbled audibly, gasping for air, "Don't hurt me, man," He begged, sputtering, "I got a life, man."

"Where'd he go?" Chaud said, standing the man up by his collar and pushing him against the wall. Fear came first, but he was already afraid, obviously. Now Chaud had to let him know that all he had to do was tell him what he wanted.

"A wife and three kids…" He gasped, breathing heavy.

"It'd really suck for them if you died wouldn't it?" He pulled a small knife out of his jacket, a pistol was threatening enough, but a knife looked more intimidating, plus it could cause more pain. "Where. Is. He?"

The man squeezed his eyes shut for a second and gulped, "I dunno man, really I don't. Said something about Sharo or somethin' I dunno."

Chaud narrowed his eyes, using the flat of the blade to reflect the light from the ceiling into the man's eyes.

The man squinted and turned his head to one side, "It's the truth man, really…"

Chaud nodded, putting the knife back into his jacket, "It had better be."

Chaud pushed him back into the wall with his left arm, pulled his right back, and delivered a roundhouse punch to the man's face, knocking him out. He sighed, dragged the man's body outside, and tied his hands to a lamp post, the police would pick him up, so long as Chaud told them where he was.

"Well," Said Protoman, breaking the silence, "We know where he went from here, but how do we know where he is in Sharo?"

"We don't," replied Chaud simply, "But I'm sure the Sharo government would lend us a few guys to help us out…"

**End Chapter. Hope you enjoyed the it, if you did, review. If you didn't? Then review. Just bored? Review. Lonely at night? Yeah, do you get the pattern? REVIEW GOSH DANGIT! O_O Anyway, someone yell at me to write chapter 7, I ain't feelin' very motivated. Also, I've been trying to make my chapters longer, but it's not really working out, so I think I'll stick with the length I've got now**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Well here I am, finally starting chapter 7, sorry it took a huge time to get up, but life hasn't been very good to me, school's been kicking my butt lately. But yeah, apologies to any readers who've been eagerly awaiting the next update... Which is not likely there are any, but just in case. And finally, thanks to everyone who reviewed *coughonepersoncough***

**Disclaimer: Rights + Silent Avenger = Nope. Rights + Capcom = Yep. In short, Capcom holds all the rights and I have none.**

**Chapter 7**

"Fifty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-nine bottles of beer, take one down pass it around fifty-nine bottles of beer on the wall! Fifty eight bottles..."

Chaud gnashed his teeth and longed to press his hands to his ears to shut out the sound of the idiot kids behind him that had been singing that stupid song for the last ten minutes. He knewhe should've flown in his private jet...

"Take one down, pass it around, fifty-five bottles of beer on the wall!"

Chaud sighed audibly and clenched his fists, you could only push a guy so far with this stuff...

"Just stay calm, Chaud." Protoman warned him from the PET in his business class armrest.

_Easy for __**him **__to say,_ Chaud thought to himself, _he _didn't have to listen to this crap.

He took the magazine out of the rack in front of him and flipped through it, attempting to draw his mind away from anything but the present, from being on a flight to Sharo to track down a rogue criminal who, apparently, knew Chaud somehow. Gee, thought Chaud as he went through the shopping section, I can buy a box of ten chocolates for only fifty dollars, what a deal. The Sharo government was cooperating just about as well as he'd hoped, allowing him entrance to Sharo security centers, military aid, and a private investigations team that would wait his command.

The crunch of the magazine could be heard as Chaud's grip tightened considerably around it; they'd reached forty bottles of beer. Chaud decided to wait until the end of the song and made a mental note to kill something while he was in Sharo.

Chaud stuffed the magazine back into the seat pocket and folded his arms. What would he do if he never found his man? Or what if he found him but couldn't get any answers out of him? He wasn't working alone, what if he was part of a large criminal organization? If that was the case, he didn't have time for that; that was Sharo National Security's job. Or was it? The guy was obviously interested in Chaud, or at least whoever he was working for was interested in him. He sighed again, he didn't need to be thinking about thing like this, this was a mission, he needed to treat it like one.

Chuad reclined his seat an inch or two, just twenty-one more bottles of beer... who came up with that dumb song anyway? He shook his head, he felt almost naked without wearing any weapons on him, not even a knife. Airport security was so tight these days, he'd get more arms in Sharo, but he liked his own gats better. He just _knew _he should have flown in a private jet.

Yes, five bottles left, four, three, two, one, and silence. Chaud closed his eyes, leaned back, and sighed in relief, finally, the end of his agony.

"Ooooh! Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer!" Chaud's eyes practically flew open, again? Seriously? Protoman cleared his throat with a nervous look on his face that said 'keep cool'. No, not again, he was _not _going to sit through ninety-nine more bottles of pure torture. He took a second to compose himself, sat up in his seat and turned around coolly.

"Excuse me, I hate to be rude, but do you think you could..." Chaud blinked, more than a little bit disoriented at who was sitting right there in front of his face, "...shut up?"

"Well, well, well!" said the bratty incarnation of immaturity, known more commonly as the boy named Lan, "Look who decided to ditch his fancy wings for a more 'primitive' mode of transportation!"

No, no, no! How the crap was he on this flight? Why? "For your information, Lan, I'm on an official mission to Sharo, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't advertise that fact like you advertise your stupidity."

"Heh heh, whatever, Chaud!" Lan replied, grinning ear to ear.

Chaud slumped back into his seat and let out an audible sigh. There was a pause. Well he'd probably regret it later, but Lan was there, might as well say something.

"So then, Lan," Chaud spoke, having regained his composure, "Why are _you_ going to Sharo?"

"Theme park!" He replied loudly and excitedly.

A flight attendant walked by as Chaud put his face in his hand and shook his head, "Honestly, Lan, I would think a kid like you could find something more useful to do with his time."

The flight attendant glanced at Chaud and then to Lan, noticing their conversation, "Would you two like to sit together?" She asked politely, mentioning to the empty seat beside Chaud.

"No," Chaud deadpanned.

"Sure!" Lan practically shouted at the same time Chaud spoke, scooting in beside him.

This flight could NOT get any worse.

"What's there to do?" Lan continued, not noticing Chaud's glare, or at least not taking note of it, "I'm already the strongest netbattler there is! Besides, I like to have fun!"

"Hn," Chaud nodded and looked at his watch, barely hearing what Lan was saying.

"You should take a break and do some fun stuff once in a while, Chaud!"

Protoman coughed. Chaud rolled his eyes. They land in twenty minutes. Normally _he _was the one who got to enjoy pissing off Lan. But the boy seemed to be having fun torturing him...

"I'm going to the bathroom." Chaud stated simply and suddenly, getting up from his seat and heading down the aisle.

"Thanks for sharing that, Chaud!" Lan called after him as he clenched his fists and teeth both.

He entered the small bathroom area, leaned against the wall, and released his fists, which he found were weak from being clenched so hard. He was already shaky before, and after all this started he hadn't been able to focus or think clearly. Was he losing his edge? Or was he just a lightweight, finding himself thrown into the world of heavyweights?

He shook his head, he was wasting this time he could be using planning out his search. Once he got back into Sharo he'd meet up with the security forces, brief them on what had happened so far, get armed... Then what? He honestly hadn't a clue where to go from there. His only concrete info was that the man was not a citizen of Japan and his appearance. The hard featured man with his turquoise hair flashed through Chaud's mind. Even then, his appearance could have been faked as well. Chaud shook his head again, sighed, took a deep breath, and opened the bathroom door, returning to his seat.

"You took a while," Lan coughed, hiding a childish chuckle, "Did you fall in?"

"Shut up."

"Get caught in the current?" Lan continued teasing.

"I said shut up." He replied, with a bit more tone.

"Or just dumping a load?"

This kid did _not _know when to stop, "Lan..." Chaud glared threateningly.

"Ok, fine, no need to get angry." The boy replied defensively.

Another pause.

"...so just jerking off then?"

**Eh, another boring chapter where not much happens. lol It helps set up a couple things, but overall this is just a chapter for the flight there. So yeah, not making any promises, but I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. :D So until then, click that little button down there that says review and tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey there everyone, sorry this took me so long to get up, buuut y'know, I just got back from a trip, and I cought a little cough, and I've been so busy, so yeah, you know, the typical excuses...**

**But anyway, here's chapter 8. A big thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're awesome. **

**Mariko Midori – heh heh, yup, Chaud may be losing his touch, but that doesn't mean he'll lose his cool.**

**Kimiko Heroux – Thanks. I didn't really want to break the mood of the story, but I did figure number 7 would be a lighter-ish chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Megaman NT warrior, or any other related media, all material is property of its respective owners.**

**Chapter 8**

Chaud mumbled to himself under his breath as he practically stomped over to the place where he saw a government agent in a black suit waiting for him.

The man met Chaud with a slight smile, nod, and verbal greeting, "Good day, Mr. Blaze. I trust you had a pleasant flight?"

Chaud glared. "Passable," He replied bluntly after a slight pause.

"Ah," the man said back, adjusting something on his headset, "Well hopefully you'll find our military facilities to be a bit better. Come," He motioned his hand to his two friends and turned to walk off the air field, "I'm sure you're eager to start your investigation here."

"Extremely," Chaud replied simply.

The walked in silence for a few minutes and the man lead him to a car, which they both got into. The car took them to a large military facility not too far away form the airport where he had landed. Chaud stepped out of the car and shivered, he should've brought a heavier jacket, he DID know he was going to be in Sharo, after all.

He followed his guide to the side of the facility, where the man punched a security code into a door panel and the door slid open. Chaud did his best to see which keys the man pressed and memorize them... y'know, just in case...

"Wonderful facility," Chaud complimented.

"We do our best to maintain it."

They went the rest of the way in silence, and he lead Chaud to a room on the second floor. He, again, punched a different code into that panel and led Chaud in. Everyone in the room (a few soldiers, scientists, and an officer) looked up, and most back down to their work. The officer, a tall man with sharp features and turquoise colored hair, stood up and walked over to them.

"Agent Blaze, this is Special Agent Colonel Raika." Raika nodded.

Chaud nodded back.

The first man glanced awkwardly as the two young men stared at each other.

"You will be working with Raika in your investigation," He broke the silence, "So, if you have any questions, you can come to him. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave"

With that he stepped out the door. It slid shut and everything was quiet once again. Raika continued to stare at Chaud, looking him over, almost. It made Chaud uncomfortable.

The green haired man broke the silence first, "So, what _are _you investigating, exactly?"

"Curious?" Chaud wondered.

"Not really," Raika smiled back.

He grinned back slightly and took off at a slow pace around the various people and monitors in the room.

"In Tokyo I had a run-in incident with a man who blew up a barbershop, and he was carrying these."

Chaud pulled out a sack, the sack, a tossed it on the table in front of Raika, "That's me, from before, in case you didn't notice. I was naturally curious about this man, and my search for him brings me here."

"Hmph," Raika practically snorted, "You break off your sworn duties to chase around the world a man who causes trouble only because of _your_ troubled past. Pathetic."

Chaud raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" He asked, offended.

"I don't repeat myself to swine."

Chaud's eyes narrowed and he brought himself to eye level, "I don't think you'd **care **to repeat _that_?" He clenched his fist.

If tension could kill, they'd all be dead. One of the scientists in the room coughed.

"Uuh, Raika? Sir?" 

"That's 'colonel' to you, sir," He shot at the man.

He gulped and nodded, "Yes, Colonel, maybe you should take a look at this," He motioned to his monitor and Raika leaned in to look at it.

Chaud sighed silently, grateful for the distraction.

"Well, he's a bit... rude." Protoman remarked, sounding mildly offended.

"Tell me about it, he completely-"

"I was talking about the little conversation I just had with his Navi." Protoman cut him off.

"Huh, guess so many years with _Raika_," He said the name as if it could peel paint, "Rudeness has just rubbed off on him."

"Hey Raika!" Chaud shouted over to the man, still hunched over the computer, "Tell your navi to stop harassing mine!"

Protoman shook his head, "That was a bit uncalled for..."

Raika looked up, "Chaud, I think we may have found your man."

"Yeah, were you even listeni-" Chaud stopped mid-sentence, hearing what the man just said, "Where?"

"Tracked him down near the national carnival."

Chaud flashback-ed.

"_So then, Lan," Chaud spoke, having regained his composure, "Why are you going to Sharo?"_

"_Theme park!" He replied loudly and excitedly._

"Crap."

**Chya! Raika! Yup, he's here now. Sorry again it took me so long to get up. And sorry it's so short. And I'm afraid this is all your getting for a few weeks because of school... _**

**But yeah, I hope this little chappie is enough to hold you off until then. But until then, please review. See? I said please. You have to now. u_u *cough* Buuut yeeeah, reviews are appreciated. Thanks for all the people who reviewed last chapter. **


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back! Sorry for the extended leave, but school has not conquered me yet! A tip to any other novice fanfic writers like me out there; write a few chapters in advance before putting the story up, that way you can update regularly and you don't lose readers. XD**

**Anyway, I'm back with chapter 9. We're getting closer to the ending now that I've found a way to affix where we are currently to where we'll end. So anyway, enjoy chapter 9 and a big thanks to all my reviewers (see also, reviewer).**

**Disclaimer: Megaman, Megaman NT Warrior, and all related materials are property of Capcom, Ryo Takamisaki, Shogakukan, and Viz Media respectively. Please support the official release.**

**Chapter 9**

"What did I do for him to hate me?" Chaud mumbled under his breath.

Raika, Chaud, and four infantry men with rifles tumbled out of their truck at the carnival.

"Come on, Chaud," Protoman replied, doing his best to sound soothing, "He doesn't hate you."

They dashed through the crowds, the soldiers hardly breaking formation, with Raika taking point. Chaud lagged behind the group, one might dare to suggest, not to his face of course, that he was borderline pouting.

"We met, and not five minutes later, he's calling me a swine, what do you call that?" Chaud took his anger to the next level of assumption, "I'll bet he doesn't even deserve the uniform he's wearing."

"Chaud," Protoman started more harshly, Chaud noted, almost a reprimand, "He's a respected military officer, if you'd read the documents I gave you in the car, you'd have known he has a very impressive record, and-"

"And he has excellent hearing." Raika deadpanned from ahead of them.

Chaud glared. He pulled a small, standard issue pistol out of his pocket. He'd barely had time to put some protective gear on and arm himself with two pistols and a few small knives. They turned a corner.

And Chaud ran straight into someone, he swore. He looked down at his shirt, newly smothered in ketchup and swore again.

"Chaaauuud, you spilt my fries!"

Lan? Chaud looked up from his shirt to the source of the voice, yup, it was Lan. He swore under his breath a third time, he hated it when he was right.

"I-" Chaud started, preparing to say something very uncomplimentary, "I don't have time for you right now."

Lan blinked, looked at the sad remains of his box of french fries, and took off after Chaud.

"Wait up Chaud!"

Chaud snorted, "Whatever," he said silently, catching up with the others.

The whole group reached a relatively large, white building, and they flattened themselves against the wall on the sides of the door, while two men rammed it down. Chaud joined them. Lan tried to flatten himself against the wall as well, and ended up bashing his head against it.

"That was intentional..." He mumbled.

"Were you dropped on your head as a child?" Chaud shot at him.

"Were you a juvenile delinquent when you were six?" Said Raika, eyes still on the door.

"Can we just get to the mission?" Lan wondered.

Chaud turned to him, "Did you know you aren't even ON the 'mission'?"

"Well I can't let you do all the hero bit yourself..."

Raika threw up his hands, "Can we all just shut up!"

"Fine." Said Lan.

"No." Chaud said at the same time.

They all traded glances, "Whatever," Chaud said, turning back to the door, which burst down at that second.

Raika took point, the men followed him in and set up a perimeter, Chaud came in back, Lan stood there awkwardly.

Chaud approached Raika, "I don't see any sign of-" Raika turned around.

He was wearing a gas mask, "Get out!"

"What?" Chaud's eyes widened, he heard some sort of colorless and odorless gas being emitted into the room.

Suddenly Chaud felt dizzy, he doubled over and held his abdomen. Everything was blurry, he took a breath and tried to stand, but felt a sharp pain in his stomach as someone kicked him. He lost his breath, his eyes rolled back in his head, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was the man in front of him, turquoise hair, cold eyes, and a mouth that was curling into a grin...

**Yeah, reeaally short, I know. But the plot's getting a little more complicated for me to write now, and I don't really have the time to think it through. I dunno, am I making Lan too comic relief-ish? What do you think? But again, thanks for everyone who reviewed, favorited, etc. and I'm reeeaaally sorry I haven't updated in so long. I'll TRY to update more regularly, but don't get you're hopes up, k? xD **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Back with chapter 10! The plot's getting just a tad bit hard to fit together, and this story honestly isn't too high on my priority list, at the moment _ So please forgive any plot holes and/or inconsistencies ^_^"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman or anything related to Megaman, I'm not gaining any money from writing this, Capcom isn't losing any money from my writing this.**

**Chapter 10**

That man, with the domino mask stood in front of Chaud, the man who had effortlessly brought Chaud to his knees. Confused Chaud with a breath, weakened him with one bullet. He raised the gun to Chaud's head, and fired.

Chaud's eyes shot open, he gasped in the gulp of air he so desperately needed what seemed like a moment ago. He was awake, he was alive, and he was in a plain, blank, white room of what looked like a solitary confinement cell. He had no idea where he was, but he was unharmed, both his weapons and concealed weapons hadn't been taken away, and his PET lay on the floor to the right of him.

He blinked again and got up, expecting some sharp pain to hit him, or an ache to come from his movements, but he found none. This wasn't what he was expecting, he was thinking he'd wake up tied half naked to a chair in a dark room with a bright light in his face. This was weird, too weird. He'd been gassed, but what about... The image of the green haired man shot through his head. What about Raika?

Chaud shivered, and not just because of the cold. Raika had a gas mask. He frowned. No, that couldn't be. He checked his PET, Protoman wasn't there. His frown deepened, unharmed, PET, weapons, only thing that was missing was Protoman. Hmm.

Chaud went to the door and tried it, locked. He felt the material and shook the handle a few times, no, ramming it wouldn't do any good. He peered in at the lock and took out his gun, he averted his gaze from the lock to the gun and back to the lock. He put the gun away and grabbed a knife. A gunshot would be way too loud, he still had no idea what was going on, better to be on the cautious side.

He took the small blade and shoved it into the keyhole. He pulled it out, peered in again, and took out a second small blade. He positioned them, inserted them into the key hole, and unlocked the door, easy.

Putting his knives back, he grabbed the gun again and turned the knob slowly. He put an eye to the crack, a curving hallway with cameras, hidden panels for what looked like concealed guns and-

Chaud spun towards the interior of the room, gun pointed in front of him. Chaud narrowed his eyes, nothing. He mumbled, perhaps his senses were a little _too _sensitive right now.

The hallway curved, he couldn't see what was at the end of the hall. Cameras first. Guns, even if they were automated, take orders from someone. Cameras act as that someone's eyes, if one can't see, one can't fight. At least, not as well.

He played his actions in his head once and stood from his position, taking a gun in each hand, he kicked the door open and dashed into the hall. Two guns, two shots, two cameras. An automated machine gun popped out of a panel on his right, just as Chaud had expected. This battle scenario, it was all familiar, too familiar. When he was chasing that man with the sack of photos, Protoman had went out into a hallway and had been fired at form both directions, first from the right, then left.

He ducked back into the room he came from after making sure the gun had a jack in port, which it did. In Protoman's battle, there had been a man with a gun in the room he was originally in. Chaud turned around and fired several shots into a gun turret that had risen from the floor. Same scenario, but Chaud was ready. He had no idea what this was about, but he was excited, this was exactly the same as before, whoever had taken him into custody had connections to, or might even be the same as, the person who drew him into this whole thing.

Chaud turned back out into the hall, aimed his laser and jacked into the gun. Taking out a cannon battle chip, he aimed the gun at the firing mechanism and destroyed it. Chaud smiled and replaced the cartridge in his right gun, flawless. He stepped out into the hall, feeling his old, elite self, but still alert, still ready, and still striving to defeat a weakness that had been gnawing at him.

**Alrighty guys, I pretty much have the rest of the story plotted out in my head, and it'll be ending in three, possibly two, chapters. This chapter was another short one, I apologize, hopefully the next shall be longer, but no promises. I DO promise, however, that the next chapter will be up within the next week or so, maybe less. That should compensate, right? :D Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers again, you guys are amazing. You seriously do not know how freakin' excited I get everytime someone gives me a review. xD Keep 'em coming.**


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